I've been away, visiting family and (sigh) getting sick, but I'm back at my keyboard and ready to post another excerpt from What Mends the Heart! Previous posts have provided a character sketch of Stephen Millory, tailor and grieving widower; introduced him properly, with two scenes from his point of view; similarly introduced Rebecca Wheeler, who runs the local boarding house; and shown how both of these characters handled an embarrassing request Rebecca makes of Stephen. Why embarrassing? Well, she's asking him to do some sewing for her unlikely friend Mamie, who runs the local "parlor house."
Now, with only two weeks to go before Book Release Day, here's another scene, where Stephen brings Rebecca to meet his horse Breeze. Stephen has another errand at the stable: he has arranged to show Jacob Flint, the owner of the stable (and Mamie's husband), some horse blankets Jacob may wish to purchase. (If you're curious about how the local madam and the owner of the livery stable ended up together, you can read all about it in What Shows the Heart.)
---------
“Here he is. Breeze, say hello to my landlady, who takes care of her boarders even better than Flint here takes care of you.”
Mr. Millory talked more easily, and with more warmth, to the horse than he did to any of the people she’d seen him with. He stroked the horse’s nose and neck; the horse nickered and ran its nose along his shoulder. Was this animal the closest connection the man had left? It was, in a way, like being introduced to a man’s family. She felt inclined to curtsy, but restrained herself, approaching instead to feed the horse an apple she’d brought along.
“This must be the blanket that impressed Mr. Flint so much.” She fingered the thick, rich material and imagined being clothed in it. “I can see why. It must keep him wonderfully cozy. I hope Breeze realizes how lucky he is.”
“Here are the others I brought.” He picked up the small pile of horse blankets and laid them one by one on the hay bales. He picked up one with deep greens and blues woven in a sort of plaid. “This one’s based on a Scottish tartan, and would show up nicely on a dark brown horse or a black one.” Next came one in white and yellow. “This would look good on a bay. And this one,” he said, pointing to the third, combining shades of red from light rose to maroon, “could work for any number of horses.”
Rebecca came close to see the patterns and textures better. Mr. Millory was still standing there. They were standing there together, close together, close enough that she could feel the warmth of him in the chilly stable. How could a man who kept to himself, a man so lonely, give off so much warmth?
He picked up the white and yellow blanket and held it out to her. Quietly, as if talking to himself, he said, “This one goes with your hair.” And as she stood there in shock, he went on, “Would you like to hold it?”
She reached for it, delighting in the feel of the material, resisting a mad impulse to drape it over her head like a scarf or a hat. Mr. Millory’s mouth twitched as if trying to smile, and he said, “I was right.”
They were facing each other now. He put out his hand as if to take the blanket back, but no, he was only touching it, touching it as she was. Their hands were only a few inches apart, and she could see his wrists. They looked strong, muscular even though lean.
Somehow the two of them were even closer to each other. Had he moved, or had she? She could feel his breath on her cheek, like a soft touch.
“Rebecca,” he said in a soft murmur. She had never thought to hear him say her name. She wanted to hear him say it again.
But what she heard instead were approaching footsteps and the light banter of conversation. Mamie and Jacob Flint had come back.
---------
What excerpt will I post next? Frankly, I haven't decided. If you have any requests, drop them in the comments! But in just two weeks, you'll be able to read it all. Here are the links to preorder the book on Amazon and on Bookshop.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment